《Before the Morning [BEING EDITED]》12 | The Floral Box
Advertisement
Nolan glanced over his shoulder as he crept into the kitchen.
Greg was in the shower. Caleb was playing a video game. It was the perfect time.
At the counter, he reached for the medium-sized, floral box labeled recipes in his mom's handwriting. Before everything happened, Greg and their mom used to use this box for recipes they either copied from the internet or created themselves. Now, it also housed Greg's on-hand funds.
Nolan stuffed the twenties inside and snapped the box shut.
Just in time. He'd barely set the box back next to the salt shaker when a voice made him jump, "Whatcha doing?"
He spun. Greg raked a towel through his hair, clad in a ratty T-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants. "I'm getting something to eat," he said, his nerves making the words snappier than intended.
"Okay." Greg's eyebrows rose. "You okay?"
"Fine." He made a bowl of Frosted Flakes and left. He wasn't even hungry, but he wasn't about to waste a good bowl of cereal.
"Are you being snippy?" Caleb asked as Nolan dropped onto the couch.
"Snippy?"
"Yeah, he is," Greg said. He'd appeared in the doorway again, this time towel-less. "Are we good?" he asked, eyebrows creased.
"Yeah," Nolan said.
Greg narrowed his eyes, but nodded. "Okay. I have homework to do."
"Your book is boring!" Caleb called over his shoulder. He stuck out his tongue, fingers tapping swiftly against the controller.
"Agreed, dude, agreed!"
✝
Ice cream place is out.
Nolan had barely hit Send when someone responded. It was so odd, being a part of a group chat again. And even back in Ann Arbor, he'd never been in a chat with more than two people, unless it was for a class project or something. Now, his phone buzzed constantly.
At first, he'd felt a bit like an invader—still did, to be honest. The name of their group chat was an inside joke he didn't understand—fine fam from alabam? What? But as the days ticked by, the notifications became just another part of daily life.
Andy was the one who'd responded. Damn!!! I really wanted ice cream
Willow's response was immediate. Swear jar.
SHERIGHEIRH
Swear jar.
WHAT
Don't think we don't know what you meant
Nolan snorted. I'll see if there's another ice cream place that'll let us film, he typed.
See, Sison??? That's called being pRODUCTIVE
Or pity, Max said.
Maxwell that was so uncalled for
Maxwell? Max asked.
I was trying something
I don't like it
Me neither
Another snort.
"Who are you talking to?" Caleb asked. He was next to him on the couch, a book in hand.
"No one," Nolan drawled. He cleared his throat and wiped a threatening smile from his face.
I'm sorry the public outings are giving you so much trouble, Erin said.
It's not any trouble, he typed.
Ann Arbor isn't ready for us next week!!!!
PARKOUR
PARKOUR!!!
Candy Cane please be careful, Nora said.
Why just me.....What are you saying......
That you're clumsy, Max said.
HEY!!
Nolan chuckled.
"Tell whoever you're talking to that I say hi," Caleb said.
Advertisement
NOLAN, Nora said. Are we set for tomorrow?
It had been a couple weeks since their last meeting. Schedules had proved difficult to match up, so they decided it would be best to get started with filming while they searched for the public locations. Tomorrow would be his first day filming.
Yeah, he said. Pick you up at Second at noon, right?
Right!
What would it be like, holding his camera again? Adjusting the lens? Choosing shots? He should have been dreading it—being forced to participate, to talk, to socialize. But he wasn't.
"Did you tell them I said hi?" Caleb asked.
"No."
"Tell them!"
He sighed and typed, Caleb says hi
HI, BUDDY!
HEY!!!!!
Whaddup
Hey, Caleb!
Tell him I say hi, too!
"They all say hi," Nolan said.
"Lemme see!"
Nolan rolled his eyes, but thought it easier to appease Caleb than have him whining in his ear for the next half-hour. He handed his phone to Caleb. Caleb took it and gasped. "You're in a group chat?" he asked.
"Yeah. Why?"
"You hate being in groups! They have too many people!"
Caleb started to type, and Nolan snatched the phone away. "What are you doing?" he demanded. HIIIIII GUYYYSSSSSSS was waiting to be sent.
Caleb giggled. "Send it, send it, send it!"
"No." Nolan erased the message. I told him, he wrote instead.
The conversation bounced between different topics for a while. In-between e-mails to different ice cream places and research on different locations, Nolan would give the occasional reply. Don't get attached.
His phone dinged, and he checked the notification. He snorted.
✝
"So, what's this project for?"
Nolan looked away from the window, at Greg. He shrugged. "Fun, I guess," he said.
Greg smiled. "It's nice."
"What's nice?"
"To hear you say fun."
Nolan rolled his eyes and looked back out the window. They were parked on the side of the street, just outside of Second. Before the other day, he had no idea the little shop existed. He wondered what it was like, working in a clothes store. Boring, probably. Though, Nora didn't strike him as someone who got bored easily.
"Are you sure we're okay?"
"Yes," he said, not removing his gaze from the window. "How many times are you going to ask me that?"
"Until you're believable."
Nolan sighed, but didn't reply. There wasn't a point. Greg wouldn't believe him, anyway.
They were fine. Hiding the job was just proving more stressful than he'd originally thought. The lying and coming up with excuses were bad enough—but Greg's happiness over Nolan "branching out" was hard to take.
"Op, here she comes."
Nolan looked up as Nora emerged from Second, a hand shielding her eyes from the sun. She waved and jogged over to their Chevrolet Impala. "Hi!" she said, hopping into the backseat and buckling her seat. "Thank you so much for picking me up."
"No problem!" Greg said. "How was work?"
"Invigorating. Any of you need your clothes folded? I'm a pro."
Greg chuckled and, once traffic cleared, pulled out onto the street. The ride to Nora's passed by pretty quickly. Nora and Greg talked about this and that, and Nolan added a word or two here and there whenever necessary. For the most part, he was free to look out the window in peace.
Advertisement
"You'll be home by three-thirty, right?" Greg asked once they'd pulled into Nora's driveway. "That's what I told Sam's mom."
"Yup," he said.
"Okay." Greg smiled at Nora through the rearview mirror. "Have fun."
"Oh, we will."
Nora hopped out of the car, and Nolan did the same, hoisting his camera bag over his shoulder. He stared up at the two-story farmhouse. The yellow paint had long faded, nearly white now.
Nora quieted as they made their way across the cement path, to the front porch.
"Did Willow send you the filming schedule?" Nolan asked.
"Yup!" She smiled. "All ordered and ready to go. If I remember correctly, we're filming in my room first, right?"
He nodded. There were two main places where Nora would sing: her room and the bathroom. There would also be some shots of her in the hallways, walking or strumming her guitar. Maybe a few in the living room, just for good measure.
They wouldn't get it all today—not with the amount of rooms and angles—but they should be able to get a good chunk of it done.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Nora said once they were inside. She swept her arm across the foyer. A simple, clean space with dark hardwood floors. Maybe they should get some shots on the stairs...
"Okay, I don't want to set your expectations ridiculously high or anything," Nora said as they traveled upstairs, "but I definitely should be an actress. Honestly."
His lips twitched. "I'll try not to get my hopes up."
She looked over her shoulder and grinned.
While she grabbed a pair of more casual clothes—a simple Tee versus a floral crop-top and Converses instead of a black heel—he took a look around, analyzing the way the shadows fell across her furniture. The bed was on the wall adjacent to the window—perfect. He set his camera bag on the bed and unzipped it.
His camera felt so natural in his hands. Last night, when he took it out to charge, it had felt heavy, weighed down with history. Today, though, it was lighter.
"Okay," Nora said. He turned as she sauntered into the room, her eyes on her phone. "So, I just sing through the song while you record?" she asked.
"Yup."
"Sounds good." She smiled, and stuffed her phone in her pocket. "Where do you want me first?"
She grabbed her guitar and he turned on his camera, and, just like that, it was time to begin. Of course, there was some finagling with the lighting, situating her so they could get the best contrast possible. But, it felt like no time at all before she started to sing.
It was terrifying, how easily he slipped back into the role of The Guy with the Camera. But as he shifted around Nora as she sang, he nearly smiled. He was more at home here, behind the lens, than he had been since he set that first cardboard box in his Greeley bedroom.
"Down darkened streets, down darkened—" She halted. "Whoops."
"It's all right," he said. "Just keep going."
"I totally know my own song." She laughed softly to herself and shook her head. "Okay. I got this." She made a dramatic, preparing sigh, and his lips twitched. "Down darkened streets, down broken roads—"
"Nora." His lips twitched again. "You're supposed to be sad."
Her grin broadened, despite her visible struggle. She sputtered out a laugh. She tried to calm herself and start again, but that only seemed to make her laugh harder. It was infectious, her laughter—a chuckle of his own escaped.
"Okay, okay, I swear, I'm ready," she said. She patted her knees, but the moment she opened her mouth to sing, she sagged, laughter on her lips. "Crap."
He caught himself from laughing again. Dammit. What was wrong with him?
"Okay." She dragged a hand down her face, a calming motion. She strummed her guitar again. "Down darkened streets, down broken..." She faltered, a smile hovering at the edges of her lips, but she quickly shoved it down. "...down broken..."
She sputtered out another laugh.
Three hours later, Nolan zipped up his camera bag. Even with the breaks for water, the mess-ups, and Nora's gregariousness, they'd gotten about three-fourths of what they needed. Not bad.
"Thank you," she said.
"For what?" he asked.
She swept a hand across her room. "For this."
"Oh, it's no problem," he said. "Thanks for the job offer."
She smiled. "Of course. It was a lot of fun today."
He nodded, a hand reaching for the back of his neck. It had been. He hated that he couldn't deny it, but he couldn't. He'd smiled and laughed—or at least had been tempted to laugh—more than he had in a long time.
"Did you have fun?" she asked.
"Yeah," he murmured. He looked away, at her guitar. She'd hung it back on the wall.
"It was my mom's," she said.
"Cool." He paused. "Was?"
"Yeah," she said. "She died when I was little."
His eyes widened. "Oh," he said softly. He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."
"It was a long time ago." A long time ago. Her tone was dismissive, but the way her gaze dipped and she seemed to curl in on herself...
She understands. He blinked the thought away—or, at least, he thought he did, because the next thing he knew, he was murmuring, "My...my mom died, too." His eyes found her Philippians 4:13 poster, and his jaw locked. "My dad, too."
Her mouth slackened. "I'm so sorry," she breathed.
He'd heard the phrase—or variations of the phrase—so many times he'd lost count. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Empty. Just words to fill a space that was doomed to stay empty. But when she said it, there was weight.
He nodded and shrugged. "I should get going."
"Yeah," she said, checking her phone. "You don't want to be late."
He hoisted his bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you later," he said.
What if you don't?
"I'll walk you down—"
"It's okay." He forced on a small smile. "Bye."
He left.
Advertisement
Peerless Hegemon [OLD]
He traversed two paths in total and left them with an empty heart. He traversed the third path and felt a void in his soul. He let others imprison him so he could seek answers and then recreate the Universe. The Answer was found, yet he was left unsatisfied. Led by the Beast that watched the Universe till its destruction, he found new meaning. In the new life he created, he began walking a path of blood. He choked a Prince with one hand and beheaded a King with the other. He killed a General ten kilometers away with an arrow and even dragged a Continent in order to get what he wanted. Yet beyond the never-ending river of blood, the core of his heart blossomed as he found himself a reason to live other than glory. Under the bleak life of chaos, blood flowed to nurture a flower, that bloomed to represent himself. Instead of Emptiness, he found life from death, and as he looked back at the path he had walked, he smiled as blood coated his lips. This is him, trying to find a place where he can gain humanity. == This story focuses on the world and the characters; there would be genocide, fights, and some bloody encounters. This is not Harem, sorry for Harem lovers, but that’s just how it is. The art for the cover isn’t mine. The credits go to its original creator.
8 162I Will Be Recognized
~~~~~~~~~~ On present day Earth, a university student was run over by a truck.When he awoke, he had discovered himself to be in a completely different world filled with magic. Not just that, he was also synchronized with a system.Daniel: a normal person; friend of the hero, possessor of the system. He was an anomaly.Watch how the protagonist interacts with the new world and how his existence starts to change the world. In this world, he will forge a new path unbeknownst to the gods.~~~~~~~~~~By: SilentPain Webnovel, RoyalRoad Every other day or so, 4-8 pm est
8 92The Black Fortress Academy
Quinn is the most disliked human and necromancer in all of Cinder. Or at least it feels that way when she's pushed so far north she has to make a living hunting the animals in the mysterious and feared North Forest. When bounty hunters force her to cross the border into Rainon she meets Meyron the Black, the definitely insane former professor of necromancy from the Academy of Mages. But she's been pushed out too, and together they're going to look for the five rejected necromancer applicants she fished out of the headmaster's wastebin. Together they will build the foundation of the Black Fortress Academy.
8 201Spirit Realm
https://www.wuxiaworld.com/novel/spirit-realmThis novel is not mine nor translated by me. For offline reading purposes only. All credits and acknowledgements goes to the author and the translator(s).Official Synopsis: Thirty thousand years ago, the Heaven Fighting Race who called themselves "Gods" invaded Spirit Realm. Hundreds of races rose up in resistance, but ultimately suffered a crushing defeat. The human race was the first to concede, and the rest of the Hundred Races soon followed in succession.During the subsequent ten thousand years, all of the races were enslaved by the Heaven Fighting Race. They were cruelly treated, and lived beneath the shadow of terror.The Heaven Fighting Race's march of conquest did not stop there. With Spirit Realm as the starting point, they invaded other secret dimensions, and spread war to all corners of existence. After greatly exhausting their combat strength, they were finally defeated by the Hundred Races who took advantage of this opportunity. With no other choice, they fled to the starry skies outside the realm.Thirty thousand years later, in an era where the Heaven Fighting Race has already faded to become ancient legend, an amnesiac youth possessing the Heaven Fighting Race's bloodline is being fostered in an insignificant household. Whilst struggling to live on, he silently awaits the day of the bloodline's awakening.SR Team: alyschu, Craxuan, wyhcwe, Nabuch
8 180The Black Empress
In a hall, so lavishly decorated, even the vatican would bow down in shame, an army of abominations kneeled, motionless. Each and every entity present could defeat all of mankind, single handedly. And yet, the girl in front of them, they could not stand against. So they chose to follow her instead, forming an army strong enough to threaten the gods themselves. The girl leisurely sat on a throne made of the same black fabric, that reality is painted on, her shoulder occupied by a crow with eyes like molten rock. Oh yeah, she looks like a four year old. Who is she? Why gather an army of such tremendous might? This is the story of a thing, that once was a normal girl, but hasn't been for centuries.
8 192Stories Of Indlu
“… to grow, for opportunity, for adventure, to be free. Join the colony ship Nao Vittoria. Be the first to live amongst the stars.” It was obvious from the literature that the NextStar corporation wanted the young, the adventurous and the brilliant. So why were the super rich fighting over seats? Why were AI’s trying to stow away? Did this signify a premature end to human/AI civilisation? Why had some questions directed to NextStar been aggressively sidelined? Why did the colonist inflight entertainment trial produce fatalities? In fact, why colonists at all? Those and many other questions, however, boiled down to a single central question. Why was the world’s most advanced AI dumped with a hundred year babysitting job for 50 million people speeding towards an uninhabitable planet? It made such little sense. The only sure way to get answers, catch a ride on the Nao Vittoria and play the inflight entertainment game, Pax Domini. I joined, and this is my story. Well, I feature. OK, I’m more of a spectator. Actually, I’m completely irrelevant I was just there. I’m only the storyteller. But what a story to tell. --------- Hi All, Content will be published weekly usually Saturday and typical posts will be 25oo to 4ooo words per post. Though for some reason the Royal Road word count does not include the content of tables so some posts may not appear to meet this criteria. Currently I have written sufficient unedited content to keep this schedule for the next 12 months (half way through the first story arc). My current productivity would indicate that I can maintain this schedule for well into the second story arch. This also allows for the additional content that will be posed exclusively on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/StoriesOfIndlu). This additional content follows minor characters, peripheral events, maps and other content that does not take away from the main story. I would love to accelerate the post schedule but to meet this I need the assistance of more beta readers than I currently have. So please let me know if you are interested. - Andy ©2022 Andy Leauter. All rights reserved. This story is also being published on Patreon.
8 113